Crypto markets moved higher on Thursday after the Senate Banking Committee advanced the long-awaited Clarity Act, a digital asset market structure bill viewed as a key step toward establishing formal U.S. regulation for the industry.

The legislation cleared the committee in a 15–9 vote, with support from two Democratic senators, and now proceeds to the full Senate for further consideration.

Bitcoin briefly rallied to $82,000 following the development as traders responded positively to signs of regulatory progress in Washington. It later eased to about $81,500, still up roughly 2.5% on the day.

Crypto equities also posted gains. Coinbase (COIN) led the move with an 8% rise as investors positioned for increased institutional participation under clearer rules. Strategy (MSTR) climbed 7%, while Bitmine (BMNR), which focuses on Ethereum treasury exposure, added 5.6%.

Stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) and Bullish (BLSH), CoinDesk’s owner, also recovered from earlier weakness, contributing to a broadly firmer tone across the sector.

Broader risk appetite remained strong, with both the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 hitting new record highs.

Sentiment was further supported by the strong public debut of AI chipmaker Cerebras (CBRS), which traded as much as 100% above its IPO price, reinforcing continued investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence stocks.

The AI-driven rally also extended into infrastructure and data center companies, particularly former Bitcoin miners shifting toward high-performance computing. Keel Infrastructure (KEEL), formerly Bitfarms, gained 9%, while IREN (IREN) rose 5% and Hive Digital (HIVE) advanced 8%, as capital continued rotating into AI-linked infrastructure plays.